Sleep
by JazzyCat
Summary: Little KakaSaku oneshot I thoguht up after looking at some pics of them on photobucket. There will probably be another oneshot or two about them soon, as well. T for language, crack fic...enjoy.


**KakaSaku Oneshot, no real plot, kinda cracky.**

It was raining. Actually, it was more of a downpour. The mission had gone smoothly, other than the fact that they were late getting back to the village. Kakashi saw the rain coming before hand and took cover under a tree, not warning his partner, Sakura. She was just about to ask what was wrong with him when the water started. It came mercilessly, not even having the decency to start as a drizzle. She was completely soaked in the two point five seconds it took her to get under the tree branches with her sensei. Or rather, ex-sensei. Now that she was a jounin, she was his equal.

"You could have at least warned me," she spat violently as he looked on with nonchalance. Just that look in his eye made her want to punch him. His gaze flew appreciatively up her shivering form, clearly outlined by the drenched clothing she wore. She caught him looking and glared until he turned his head toward the sky.

"Doesn't look like it's going to stop soon." He held his hand out. "Nope. I guess we'll be staying here tonight."

"W-wait!" Sakura said as he started to sit down. "Shouldn't we try to get more cover, or build a fire? We don't want to be caught by enemies, do we?"

"Of course not, but other than that, we're fine."

"How are we supposed to cook the food?"

"We're not." The gray-haired man began to unpack bundles of rice balls and raw meat, wrapped in huge leaves.

"We can't eat meat raw, we'll die."

"Did you stop to think? It's raining. We can't start a fire. And even if we could, we'd be attracting unwanted attention with the smoke, and then the smell of our food would attract wild animals." The roar of a mountain lion could be heard in the distance. "Speaking of…"

Sakura stared off into the trees for a moment, at the ready in case the big cat came leaping through the trees to eat them. When nothing came, she relaxed a bit, but didn't loosen her grip on the kunai in her hand.

"Shouldn't we at least get more branches to make sure we don't get wet while we sleep?"

"But…I don't' really want to get wet," Kakashi said, making up excuses before eyeing her again. "Although, for you it wouldn't make much of a difference…" Scowling, Sakura caught on to what he was trying to say.

"Fine," she ground out through her teeth. "I'll go." Without another word she leaped up into the tree. "Asshole, I was half-dry already," she muttered under her breath, wielding her kunai in her left hand and cutting through a few thick branches about halfway. With one easy kick, the wood bent and formed a makeshift umbrella for the campsite many feet below. Now she just needed to find fuel for the fire she was planning on making. She found some dead twig close to the trunk and broke them loose. They seemed dry enough so she jumped back down, now re-soaked. She shook her hair dry.

"All done?" Kakashi asked, making Sakura grit her teeth. She took a seat and started building a fire. "What's wrong?"

Was he purposely trying to antagonize her? Did he want to anger her past the point of no return?

By the time she finally got the fire going, it was dark, and the rain was just as heavy. She was cooking her meat over the flames on a stick, the smell becoming quite delicious. Kakashi, having already eaten his raw while she was working, sharpened his weapons instead. Sakura finished her food quickly and warmed herself up, drying the damp spots on her clothes.

Kakashi suddenly tensed. "Put out the fire," he ordered. "Now." A question lingered, but she did what she was told, scooping dirt up in her hands and letting it fall onto the embers.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, but her ex-sensei pressed a finger to her lips to silence her. She waited patiently but tensely as he listened. After what seemed like an eternity, his shoulders dropped a bit.

"Nothing. Go to sleep." She turned and began to lay out her bedroll when she saw it. Kakashi didn't think she'd seen it, but he'd run a hand over his face. He was tired. No, exhausted. She paused.

"Kakashi, I'll take the first watch, you go to sleep." Kakashi shook his head.

"No, you go ahead."

"Really," Sakura insisted. "You look like you haven't slept in days. That's not good for you."

"Thanks, but I know that. And I'm fine. Since when do you worry about me?"

"Since now. You look like you're about to drop…" she wracked her brain. "Come to think of it," she said, pressing a finger to her lower lip thoughtfully, "I don't think I've ever seen you sleep."

"Oh, sure you have." She could almost hear the fatigue in his voice. "Loads of times."

"But," pink hair flew around her head like a halo as she shook her head. "You weren't really sleeping. You were always faking. Always." The worry grew, and a crease formed in her brow.

"Don't frown. You'll wrinkle."

"That's the least of my problems." She replied. "If you drop, I have to carry you. You're easily twice my weight." She was making light of the situation with her joke, she realized, and forced herself back on topic. "Go to sleep. And don't fake it."

He'd gone for days without sleep on their missions before, she realized, thinking back. She'd wake up in the middle of the night to pee or get a drink and he'd be up, on watch. The few times she'd seen him close his eyes were on the D rank missions where they were weeding gardens and the like. And even then he never did more than that—close his eyes. So when did he sleep?

It was probably the cause of his constant tardiness. He was always sleeping in because he didn't get enough on normal days. When they went on missions…

"Kakashi-san, I can take care of myself. You don't have to watch out for me. I promise." She looked up through her lashes at him, trying the cute approach. No dice.

"I trust you," he said, "but I'd still feel better if I—"

"Ugh! Why can't you just trust me! You say that you do, yet I'm a medic nin and you don't listen to me when I tell you these things!" Her temper was starting to flare. "Really, you need rest. Now sleep on your own or I'll make you. Which would you prefer."

Kakashi was too tired to fight, something that Sakura had been counting on. He gave in and laid down on the bedroll. He tossed and turned for a few minutes before settling down. Ten minutes passed and Sakura wasn't convinced.

"Sensei…" she said, using the old honorific. "I know you're still awake."

"Yup."

"Can't you sleep?"

"Nope."

"Well why not?" she asked him, exasperated.

"I don't have a pillow."

"Use the backpack."

"Too lumpy and hard."

"Then stuff it with leaves."

"Too itchy."

Sakura sighed, knowing what he was getting at. "Alright," she growled, and patted her lap. "Lay down." She folded her legs under her and allowed him to rest his head there. "Now go to sleep, or I'll kill you." She saw something almost like a smile cross his face under the mask as he put his head on her lap gently.

"I'm not going to sleep," he said quietly. She hadn't expected her would."

"I'm lending you my lap, you could at least shut up and rest," Sakura scowled. She leaned her back against a nearby tree trunk and stared up into the branches above her, wishing she could see the stars. "Kakashi?" she whispered. No answer. She peered down at his face. His one visible eye was closed.

"_He can't be sleeping…can he?_" She thought. "_He was really exhausted, but…_" She touched his hair gently. No response. She ran her fingers through the puffy gray. Still no answer. "He's really asleep!" She whispered. "Look, even his eyes are moving. R.E.M. sleep! He's dreaming…I wonder what about."

Her brow creased again. Many thoughts were running through her head all at once and she couldn't keep up. Part of her was wondering what he was dreaming about. Another part thought it was probably something dirty from one of his porny novels. Yet another was relieved that he'd fallen asleep, but the most dominant part was worried. He'd let himself get to a state where he fell asleep right away. He probably hadn't rested in days…she sighed.

"You need to take better care of yourself," she whispered, before daringly leaning in and kissing him on the forehead. "And you better not know I did that," she said, blushing. She didn't see it, but his unconscious mouth turned up in a smile, the kiss turning his dreams to her.


End file.
